NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remains resistant to the idea of allowing the league's players to participate in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record on the subject, but I think going to the Olympics is a challenge for us," Bettman said during a press conference Friday at the Global Games in Sweden, according to Sportsnet's Emily Sadler.

The league announced in April 2017 that its players wouldn't participate in the 2018 Olympics. It marked the first time since 1998 that NHL players didn't take part in the Winter Games, and it sounds like Bettman prefers to continue with that approach.

"I know the players love representing their countries, I know that the players like going, I know that the players that don't go like having a break in the middle of the season," he said. "But from our standpoint, we have found going to the Olympics to be incredibly disruptive ... to our season."

Bettman also confirmed that he recently met with International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel but couldn't provide any significant update on their discussions regarding the NHL's Olympic participation.

"We had another meeting. We've had many, many meetings, and there is no news to report," Bettman said. "I would suggest it was more a philosophical and procedural discussion. (NHLPA executive director) Donald Fehr also participated in the meeting, but I have nothing to report on that front."

The NHL traveled to Shanghai for preseason contests in both 2017 and 2018 as part of the China Games. In July 2019, the league sent Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to China to serve as a league ambassador.

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Victor Hedman returned to the Tampa Bay Lightning's lineup on home soil Friday after missing two games with a lower-body injury.

The Lightning are in Sweden for two games against the Buffalo Sabres as part of the NHL Global Series. Hedman, along with fellow Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo, are two of the biggest draws for fans in their home country.

Hedman suffered the injury on Oct. 29, but head coach Jon Cooper was hopeful that the star blue-liner would be ready for the club's trip to Sweden.

In 11 games this season, Hedman has notched two goals and seven assists while logging 21:39 per contest.

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Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan announced Friday.

Letang exited Monday's game against the Boston Bruins during the third period, but it's unclear what exactly caused the ailment.

The veteran defenseman has recorded four goals and 12 points in 15 contests this season. He also ranks 10th league-wide with an average of 25 minutes of ice time per game.

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The Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators will open their 2020-21 regular seasons in Prague, Czech Republic, and the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will travel to Helsinki, Finland to make up next year's NHL Global Series, the league announced on Friday.

The Bruins and Predators will also finish their training camps in Germany and Switzerland, respectively, with each team hosting an exhibition game before heading to Prague. Boston stars David Pastrank and David Krejci are from the Czech Republic, and Switzerland is the birthplace of Nashville captain Roman Josi.

Later in the fall, the Avs and Jackets will travel overseas to play two regular-season games. Finland is the home country for Colorado's Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi, as well as Columbus' Markus Nutivaara and Joonas Korpisalo. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was also born in Finland.

Next year's events will mark the fourth consecutive season the NHL has sent teams to Europe, and ninth overall. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers opened their seasons in Prague in October, and the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning are currently in Stockholm, Sweden for a two-game set.

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With four games on Friday, 11 on Saturday, and seven more on Sunday - including a matinee on each day - there's no reason to leave your home during one of the busiest weekend slates so far this season.

Game betting

Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres (Friday)

The NHL is taking its show to Stockholm, Sweden, for a doubleheader between the Lightning and Sabres this weekend. Tampa Bay hasn't come anywhere close to living up to lofty expectations so far this season, but a trip across the pond might be exactly what it needs to break out of this funk. Buffalo, meanwhile, has lost three in a row after a hot start, scoring just three goals in those games. The Lightning have dominated this series, winning 16 of their last 20 over the Sabres. This feels like a safe spot to ride with the chalk.

New Jersey Devils at Edmonton Oilers (Friday)

At this point, we no longer have to keep calling this the Taylor Hall Revenge Game - he's been gone long enough. The Oilers have also dominated the Devils since trading Hall to New Jersey, beating them in five of six games that he's featured in, including both at Rogers Place. Following back-to-back home losses this week, trust Edmonton to round out its homestand with a win on Friday night.

Philadelphia Flyers at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday)

For the second successive Saturday night, the Leafs and Flyers will clash on Hockey Night in Canada, and they have a tough act to follow after last weekend's 11-round shootout. Both teams are coming into this game hot; Toronto's on a three-game winning streak and Philadelphia's on a four-game point streak. Following a pair of unders for each team this week, look for an outburst of goals on Saturday night, as the over has hit in nine of the Flyers' last 12 visits to Toronto.

Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals (Saturday)

It'll be a 2018 Stanley Cup rematch in D.C. on Saturday night with the Golden Knights visiting the Capitals. Washington is on an improbable run of 10 overs in its last 11 games, while both meetings with Vegas last year also flew over the total. At the rate the Capitals have been scoring, it's only right to keep riding the wave and trust the over in this spot.

Dallas Stars at Winnipeg Jets (Sunday)

Don't look now, but the Stars are back to .500 after winning seven of their last eight games, while the Jets haven't been able to string any sort of streak together. Winnipeg has won just one of its seven contests at MTS Place in regulation - with a game against the Canucks scheduled for Friday before this one - and the last five have all gone under the number. Dallas' winning streak has been predominantly based on good defense and goaltending, so look for another tight encounter here with the game staying under the total.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Chicago Blackhawks (Sunday)

Michael Hutchinson will almost certainly get the nod here for the Leafs in their fifth back-to-back of the season. They're 0-4 in this spot so far, while the Blackhawks are actually 2-0 when playing their second game in as many nights. Chicago is struggling and could be in for a long season, but this is a nice spot to back the team at plus-money while continuing to fade the Leafs until they prove capable of winning on no rest.

Game props

Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets (Friday)

Despite all the talk about Winnipeg's lack of talent on the blue line, the early returns haven't been nearly as bad as advertised. The Jets have allowed just nine goals in their last five home games, while the free-scoring Canucks haven't been nearly as strong offensively outside of British Columbia. Vancouver has scored just five goals in its last six trips to Winnipeg, so the team total under 3.5, 2.5, and perhaps even 1.5 are all worth strong consideration.

Los Angeles Kings at Montreal Canadiens (Saturday)

The Canadiens sure love playing on Saturday nights. They've scored at least five goals in four of their five games on Hockey Night in Canada this season and there's no reason that shouldn't continue against a Kings team that has allowed 63 goals already this season - only the Red Wings have conceded more. Bet the over on the Habs' team total at 3.5, and even at 4.5 if you want to live a little.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Chicago Blackhawks (Sunday)

Adding to the note on this game above, the Leafs have allowed 18 goals (excluding shootouts) in their four games on the second half of a back-to-back, while the Blackhawks have scored eight in their two. Overall, the first-period over has hit in four of those six contests. You can back the over on the 1.5-goal total in the opening 20 minutes, while also putting some coin on Chicago's team total over 3.5.

Player props

Los Angeles Kings at Montreal Canadiens (Saturday)

Max Domi is marred in a bit of slump with just one point in his last six games after recording an assist in six straight. There's no better spot for him to break out than at home against one of the worst defensive teams in hockey.

Nashville Predators at San Jose Sharks (Saturday)

The Sharks can't prevent anyone from scoring these days, as they're level with the Kings in allowing 63 goals already this season. The Predators shouldn't have an issue getting on the scoreboard, with Roman Josi a good bet to record an assist in this game. He has 12 through the first 16 contests, including seven on the power play.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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The Colorado Avalanche went scorched earth on the Nashville Predators during the second period of Thursday's contest, striking for six goals in an eight minute span to turn a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 lead.

Joonas Donskoi got the ball rolling at the 5:26 mark of the frame, and he punctuated the run with his seventh goal of the season at the 13:26 mark.

Predators netminder Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Juuse Saros following the third tally of the onslaught.

Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, who collected his ninth goal of the season in the opening stanza, added three assists during the second-period rout.

In total, 12 Colorado players picked up at least one point over the eight-minute span. The club's offensive outburst occurred despite not having top talents Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog in the lineup.

The Avalanche's wild run marked a franchise record for the fastest six goals in a game, according to NHL Public Relations.

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Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau doesn't appear to be a fan of San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane's acting skills.

Wild forward Ryan Hartman received a five-minute major for slashing Kane halfway through the third period after the two battled for a puck along the boards. Kane went down and appeared to have seriously injured his leg, but returned to the game minutes later.

"Kane did a great job of selling it," Boudreau told reporters postgame. "Because he went off limping, everybody thought he had a broken ankle and he missed one shift."

Kane stayed down on the ice in visible pain. The referees reviewed the play and called it a major penalty.

The Sharks, who were up 6-4 at the time, weren't able to capitalize with the man advantage. They went on to beat the Wild 6-5.

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